Hey Bookworm friends! I’m excited to get to May’s wrap-up since it was a great month, both life-wise and in terms of reading. Plus, I will get to shine a light on the indie books that I read for #ReadIndieSFFMonth2026 ! I had so much fun hosting that reading challenge with Leslie and it was great to see a few people joining in! A massive thank you to anyone who participated and shared the word about our little event 🥰. And now, let’s get into my Reading Wrap-Up & Monthly Reset for May.
May Highlights
- Birthday Season was very successful and Mother’s Day celebrations were plentiful. I took my mom to see Stars on Ice, we went bowling, and we hosted a cake+champagne get-together for her birthday. My husband also had three separate birthday dinners (with different groups of people), add in visits with the in-laws and it was fun-filled to the brim!
- Some friends from out of town came to visit and I got to meet their baby! He was the sweetest and jolliest little guy, I was so happy holding him and bouncing him and catching up with my friends.
- We had tickets to see Brennan Lee Mulligan’s ‘Endless Dungeon’ show and had a blast! We laughed so much and I was impressed at how the comedians were able to improvise a full D&D story in around 2 hours!
- We went to a board game cafe with a friend and the power went out while we were playing so we played by phone-light (no candles sadly) and it was kind of fun and weirdly nostalgic.
- I finally went to the eye doctor to get an eye-exam and get new prescription sunglasses since I accidentally destroyed my old ones. It appears my prescription has not changed in years so that was good to hear and I love my bright yellow sunnies!
What I Read
May Reading Stats
Total Books Read:12
| Format Read |
|---|
| 📱E-Books: 6 |
| 📚 Physical: 1 |
| 🎧 Audiobooks: 4 |
| 📖+🎧Immersive: 1 |
| Genre |
|---|
 🐲Fantasy: 5 |
| 😱Horror: 1 |
| 🚀Science Fiction: 1 |
| 💥Humour: 2 |
| 💕Romance: 3 |
| Book Format |
|---|
| Graphic Novel: 3 |
| Comics: 2 |
| Novella: 3 |
| Novel: 4 |
What I Read For #ReadIndieSFFMonth2026
🐲 Cursed Cocktails by S. L. Rowland │ 🎧
Prompt: First In A Series. I really enjoyed this queer cozy fantasy. It’s a relatively low stakes story in an epic world. It centers around a blood mage who is retiring from his job and wants to settle into a new life. It was so sweet to watch him make new friends and find his place in a new town while coming to terms with his past. This is the type of cozy story that works for me!
🐲 That Which Follows You Home by Josiah D. Blizzard │📱
Prompt: Published Within The Last Year I had a lot of fun with this novella prequel! It set up the world really well and I was very invested in all the characters’ lives. I wrote a review for this one for the ‘post a review prompt’ which you can find here.
💕The Stone Initiation by Debbie Cassidy │🎧
Prompt: Try A New To Me Author From A Rec. This one was recommended in the Storygraph Challenge and I’ve never read a book with Gargoyles before so I decided to give it a shot. I had a very mixed experience with this supernatural romance. The world-building was fun, there is a mystery that was intriguing, and I really liked the main character and the friends she made. However a lot of the drama hinges on one of my least fav tropes: fated mates (I just can’t with it!). I also discovered that the Omegaverse is aggressively not for me. If I hear the words male or female in a casual conversation one more time, I’m gonna have a cow! Example: “The female I fell in love with”. No thank you.
💕SOS Hotel: For A Supernaturally Safe Stay! by Ariana Nash as Adam Vex │🎧
Prompt: A Kissing Book (Romance is Present). I’ve been wanting to start this series for a while because I’ve heard it’s been compared to Hazbin Hotel and I had a lot of fun with this first book! It’s a supernatural romance and an urban fantasy mystery. An ex-porn star demon and a totally normal—don’t ask questions—human set up a hotel as a safe space for supernatural creatures. The characters are really fun, the humour is dark yet silly, and it’s very spice-forward.
💕SOS Hotel: Friendly Sanctuary for the Fiendishly Fabulous by Ariana Nash as Adam Vex│🎧
Prompt: A Novella. These audiobooks are short and fun and I liked the first book enough that I jumped right into the second one! It’s a MMM romance and I love all of the characters, I want them all to be safe and happy but of course they’re in the middle of like five disasters. The push and pull of the various romantic entanglements is fun and I love that in this second book we get to know more about the mysterious vampire character. I will continue this series.
Other Reads
🐲Red and the Wolves by Cherry Zong│📱
This was an interesting retelling of little red riding hood where the roles of the wolves, grandmother, and riding hood were flipped and completely different. The art was just the right amount of creepy and the ending was satisfying while still being a bit unexpected. It was a strong debut and I would recommend it to lovers of graphic novels.
💥Strange Planet and Stranger Planet by Nathan W. Pyle│📱
I am familiar with this comic artist from Instagram so when I saw his books on Hoopla, I automatically borrowed them! I enjoy his sense of humour and the little aliens who are learning how humans live. The overly literal language they use to describe everything from an outsider’s point of view is so entertaining and puts things we take for granted in a new light. I really loved my time with these.
🚀The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez│📖+🎧
I have been wanting to try this author for a while so I was so happy when this was picked for my friend book club in May! I absolutely adored this; it’s the kind of Sci-Fi that makes me fall in love with the genre even more! A sweeping story about a woman who spends a lot of her life in a time pocket and thus experiences time differently. Her journey connects to a young boy who doesn’t speak and has no family and so they form a found family of their own but it’s also so much more than that. I especially loved how anti-empire and anti-capitalist this story was. Currently vying for my top read of the year.
😱Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton│📖
Another buddy read I enjoyed. The strange writing style won me over right away and I really loved this book. I appreciated the different take on zombies, the characters had such personality and the story was so creative. It was honestly unlike anything I’ve ever read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes books that are a bit weird.
🐲Unfamiliar, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 by Hayley Newsome│📱
This is a really cute graphic novel duology about a young witch that moves to a new city because she wants to make new friends. The art style is so whimsical and bright with a light touch of spookiness. The first volume introduces us to new witches and as they become friends they help each other with their issues. I liked the second volume the most because that’s when the story gets more interesting as there’s a bit of a mystery and a budding romance. It’s not exactly the most memorable story but worth checking out for the art alone as far as I’m concerned.
What I Watched
The Mandalorian and Grogu
I’m not caught up on all the Star Wars TV shows so I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this movie but my husband really wanted to watch it and I’m so glad he convinced me to give it a try! I had such a fun time with it and let’s be honest most of it is because of how cute and funny Grogu is; I get why he gets so much love. I loved how self contained this story is. I didn’t have to know much about the wider SW politics or lore to be fully invested but now I’m thinking I may want to give the Mandalorian TV show a chance.
Smosh Reddit Stories
Pretty much the only show we watched all month. We’ve now caught up and at the mercy of Saturdays when the new Smosh Reddit Stories drop. 🥲
Gaming Highlights of May
My Top Video Game of the Month
Dredge
I started playing Dredge because my friend gave it to me as a gift and I’ve been enjoying it a lot but I also have to be in the right mood to play it. It’s an exploration game where you play as a fisherman who crashes their boat and ends up in a small creepy town. You must fish to make money so you can own your new boat but in the meantime there are also weird occurrences, hauntings at sea, and lovecraftian fish.
Exploring can be stress-inducing sometimes and mildly scary, especially at night, because giant creatures ram against your boat and break it. There’s lots to do: mysteries to solve, fish to collect, and treasures to dredge but I am making progress!
My Top Board Game of the Month
Wilmot’s Warehouse
So far I’ve only played this game once but it’s so different and inventive. Basically you have all these tiles of colours and shapes that vaguely look like things and players are supposed to put them face down in a grid and then remember where they all are.
Sounds difficult right? It kind of is but with the help of rules and multiple brains, you’re supposed to make a story as a memory aide in order to find the tiles against the clock at the end. I was shocked by how many tiles I was able to remember with this method and I’m definitely interested in playing again on the harder levels! It’s the type of game that’s never the same each time you play.
Crafty WIP
Here is how my cross stitch project has advanced since the last time I shared my WIP. I’m on the demon thingy in the background but I have filled out both flames. For anyone wondering it’s the Magus fight scene from Chrono Trigger. That’s the extent of my knowledge of this game😅.
I’m wondering if I should backstitch each section of the project in one of the colours from that section. For example backstitch the pillar in purple and the demon in brown just so that they stand out more against the black backround. If you’re a cross-stitcher what would you do?
Let’s chat in the comments!
What have you been watching or playing lately? Or, have you read any of these books?
I’ve been very curious about Dredge! But a little daunted by how much of it there is, you know? But I think I will get it at some point!
Ah, yes I do know what you mean I get daunted by big games (& big books sometimes too). I do have a hard time orienting myself with maps so that’s been kind of a challenge but I’m hoping it will help me with my general lack of spacial awareness. But regardless it’s been really fun, I do recommend it! 🙂
It sounds like you had a wonderful month. The mothers day celebrations sound wonderful, I’m sure seeing a show on ice was amazing. And all the birthday celebrations that your husband had sound great. It must have been nice catching up with friends you hadnt seen in a while and its a shame there were no candles during the power cut at the board game cafe as that would have been fun I imagine. Love your new sunglasses too 🥰
Wow I can’t believe how much you managed to read during such a busy month!! Its wonderful hearing that most of them were hits too. I love that you found a new series to fall for and picked up the type of cosy fantasy you enjoy. Its just a shame you didn’t manage to get to a book with your favourite trope or a cover pick or you’d have gotten a bingo.
So glad you enjoyed your other reads too. The new spin on Red Riding Hood sounds interesting. And I’ve seen so much love for Simon Jimenez’s books. Its great to hear that you enjoyed your first one too. Hollow Kingdom sounds great too. I forgot what it was about but your zombie mention has jogged my memory. Definitely one I’ll have to read sometime.
I haven’t seen anything Star Wars wise 🙈 glad you enjoyed this one despite being behind yourself though.
Dredge sounds interesting. The weird occurrences and sea haunting have me intrigued.
Your cross stitch looks like its going well but I don’t know the game its based on. I think I’d wait until you’ve finished the cross stitch bits then decide about the backstitch. Although I usually outline on my designs. I’ve never tried against a black background though. Maybe use a lighter side from within each section as it may stand out more 🤔
I hope you have a wonderful June 🥰 I need to get back to games soon, I haven’t played one in a while.
Yes I did thanks so much, Charlotte! All the events certainly kept me busy and I always love any chance to see friends! I think it would have been fun to have candles too but it’s probably a safety hazard, alas! I’m so happy with the colour of my sunglasses, I was stuck between an olive green and this yellow and I’m glad I went for the brighter option! Thank you🥰
It’s weird that I managed to get as many books as I did and glad most were hits thank goodness, I think that certainly helped. Yeah I know I was so close to a bingo but pretty much ran out of time! 😂
I am so so impressed with Simon Jimenez, if that’s his debut I can’t imagine what his other book and future ones will be like! 🤩
Hollow Kingdom is about a crow whose human is now a zombie and he along with other animals have to deal with the zombie apocalypse sort of. Very cleverly done, I thought! Would work for Summer of Horror or the fall season really nicely if you ever wanna give it a try.
I think if the Star Wars movie had required me to know more stuff in advance I wouldn’t have watched it in the first place, I’m happy it was more of a standalone in some ways.
Oh yes, I played some more Dredge yesterday and the mysteries deepened and I got a few other scares with creepy fish stuff..I’m really enjoying it!!
Thank you, I also don’t know the game but even still I’m enjoying the process of making this. You’re right I think I’d better wait to see how it looks before deciding on the backstitch-uation 😛 It will probably be a lot of work. Yeah a lighter colour is sort of what I had in mind so I’m glad you said that! 🙂
I hope you have a wonderful June too, thank you. Also I’m sorry I haven’t been on IG a lot lately, I’m still sort of around but much less these days. When we next do our buddy read I’ll be more present 🙂 I hope you can spend some time enjoying your games soon then 🥰.
Glad to hear it 🥰 its funny how celebrations seem to get grouped together time wise like that sometimes. That’s true, I suppose it probably would be. Glad you’re happy with your choice ❤️
My mum always says the less time you have to do something the more you make an effort to fit it in and I swear she’s right given the way that so many people stopped reading and/or blogging during Covid.
I tend to miss the Bingo’s because I only check in after the event so I don’t give myself a chance for any last minute reads 🙈 I know someone who loved their second book 🥰
Sounds like a creative idea. I’ve been seeing it mentioned a bit lately too oddly. Maybe its a sign that I need to squeeze it into my Summer Of Horror reading 😂
Good to hear it worked as one because the amount of catch up involved otherwise is incredibly daunting.
Glad you’re enjoying it. And I get the game scares. One level of Hogwarts Legacy freaked me out 🙈
It does take a bit of work but I think it can be worth it depending on the design.
Its okay I completely understand, we all get busy sometimes. And its such a challenge to juggle everything at times. I look forward to our next buddy read though. And thank you 🥰
It is funny, for some reason everyone’s birthdays seem to be clumped except for me I have no birthday buddies in my family lol.And thank you 💛
ahah amazing, your mom is definitely onto something there. Humans psychology is strange, as soon as we think we “shouldn’t or can’t do” something, we want to do the opposite!
Aha yes that’s similar to how I handle reading challenges, look at the end to see where the chips fell. 😝 And Oh that’s awesome, a friend of mine recently recommended me his second book without knowing I was reading his first so I’m taking it as a sign!
Hmm interesting! Yes If you do read it I definitely want to know your thoughts! Good luck with the summer of horror!
Hehe I’m glad you get it and I had no idea that game could be a little creepy too, wow.
I agree if it makes it look good then the bit of extra effort is worth it considering all the work you put into making the project in the first place!
For sure, I’m definitely avoiding the platform and I feel much better and I am really looking forward to our next buddy read too :D! 😻